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Date:3/2/2026 9:39:19 PM
From:"maria beverly"
To:"Public Comment" publiccomment@anaheim.net
Subject:[EXTERNAL] Please vote NO on the Shea/Festival Center apartments – It's a safety issue
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Dear Council Member,
I am writing as a long-time Anaheim Hills resident and taxpayer to respectfully but firmly urge you to vote “No” on the proposed
apartment development at the Anaheim Hills Festival Center.
I lived through Canyon Fire 2 in 2017, and I will never forget being stuck in my car surrounded by smoke, unable to move for
hours. It was not ordinary traffic — it was a complete standstill during an active wildfire. The fear and uncertainty of that moment
are something residents who experienced it will never forget. We witnessed firsthand how qui ckly our limi ted evacuati on routes
became overwhelmed.
The project’s traffic analysis suggests that this development would add “only” seven mi nutes to evacuati on times. But when
residents are already stuck for hours while a fire is approaching, seven additional minutes i s not insigni fi cant — it is potenti ally
life or dead.
Anaheim Hills does not have multiple evacuation corridors. We funnel into the same few main roads. Increasing resi denti al
density in an already constrained wildfire evacuation zone is not responsible planni ng — it is a seri ous safety risk.
Evacuations are not clean mathematical exercises. They are chaotic. Many families have young children, elderly relati ves, and
pets. Trying to calm frightened kids and animals while sitting in gridlocked traffic, watching smoke move closer, is a reali ty traffic
models cannot fully measure. Safety planning must reflect real human conditions, not theoreti cal averages.
Additionally, our community has already grown organically. Homes purchased decades ago by famili es wi th small chi ldren now
have teenagers and young adults who drive their own vehicles. Traffic has naturally increased within our own households over
time. Infrastructure that was never designed for this level of density is already strained. Adding hundreds of new units — and
potentially over a thousand additional residents — compounds an existing bottleneck in a hi gh fire severity area.
This proposal was previously reviewed and denied by the Council after significant community i nput and careful consi derati on of
the safety concerns. Many residents appreciated that our voices and the evacuation reali ti es were taken seriously at that ti me. It
is difficult to understand why the same proposal is being reconsidered when the fundamental evacuation limi tations have not
changed.
As elected officials, you were entrusted by the residents of Anaheim Hills to represent our safety, our i nfrastructure realities, and
our long-term well-being. We voted for leadership that would protect our community — not i ncrease known risks. Consi stency,
transparency, and accountability in land-use decisions are essential to maintaining publi c trust.
We understand California’s housing challenges. However, housing solutions must be placed i n locations that can safely support
them. Public safety must come before development pressure. Once approved and built, thi s i mpact cannot be undone.
I respectfully ask that you prioritize the safety of the residents who already live here and vote “No” on this proposal.
Sincerely,
Maria Beverly
Anaheim Hills 18 years resident
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